OAKLAND – During halftime of a game against Phoenix on Saturday, Stephen Curry sent Quinn Cook a text that made a big impression on the 24-year-old, two-way player.

I dont care if you go zero-for-25, that 26th shot you better not hesitate, Curry wrote, according to Cook.

After struggling a bit with his shot in the first half, Cook had 16 of his career-high 28 points in the third quarter.

To hear that from a guy like that, and everybody on the team, it really does a lot for your confidence, Cook said. And it really shows you I can stop putting pressure on myself and really play my game.

Cook has started in six straight games since Curry sustained a right ankle injury in a game against San Antonio on March 8. Over that period, hes transformed from being timid and out of sorts, into a player who is making a strong case for himself to be on the playoff roster.

He had a team-high 20 points on Monday against the Spurs, scoring nearly twice as much as any of his teammates. In Fridays loss to Sacramento, he had 25 points on 10-for-13 shooting. Then in the teams next game against Phoenix, he had 28 points on 11-for-17 shooting.

Cook said up until now, its been difficult to establish a rhythm because hes constantly shuffling back and forth between the Warriors and their G-League affiliate in Santa Cruz.

When you dont know where youre going to be tomorrow or the next week, its tough, Cook said. So when Id come here, Id play just not to mess up. Play not to step on anybodys toes.

Last season, Cook played in five games for Dallas and nine games for New Orleans. This season, hes averaging 6.6 points on 47.5 percent shooting in 16.5 minutes a game over 22 games for the Warriors.

But with a string of injuries to the Warriors four All-Stars, Cook knew that he needed to approach his playing time differently over this past stretch.

Guys need me to be who I am, Cook said. I think the Warriors signed me because they know I can do a certain thing.

Cook said hes grateful that the Warriors believed in him enough to look past his initial jitters throughout the season.

When its your first year on the team and youve had some struggles at times, certain guys, certain coaches, could be like, all right, maybe he cant do it at this level, Cook said. Or tell me to pass the ball a little bit more. But Im telling you, those games where I was struggling to shoot the ball, Steve and every player on my team All of them were telling me to keep shooting. If you hesitate, theyd get mad at me. So the fact that they kept that confidence in me has really been the reason why Ive been able to have some high-scoring games.

When Cook was asked if he thinks hes proven to the Warriors that he should no longer be on a two-way contract, he said thats not his concern.

I dont really like to get into that, Cook said. I know my teammates know, my coaches know Im a full-time NBA player. The fact that Im on a two-way is a little more motivation for me. Just to know Im not where I want to be at. Thats not my mindset going into games just to prove that Im an NBA player, I just want to help the team win as much as possible and the rest will take care of itself.

That being said, Cook didnt hesitate when asked if he hopes hes with the Warriors long-term.

I would love to be with this team for the next 10 years of my career, Cook said. That would be the ultimate blessing.